Magnificat
Originating from the Latin word for “magnify” (although originating in the Greek New Testament), the Magnificat is the name given to the words of Mary in Luke’s Gospel, beginning “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” According to the gospel, Mary, while pregnant with Jesus, visited her cousin Elisabeth, who was at the time pregnant with John the Baptist. In response to Elisabeth’s salutation Ave Maria, she spoke the words of the Magnificat.
In the Roman Rite the Magnificat is the canticle appointed to be sung at Vespers, together with a proper antiphon. The various Gregorian reciting tones or toni (given in the Liber Usualis) are chosen to agree with the mode of the antiphon, and their various terminations are likewise meant to dovetail with the opening of the antiphon's repetition; in general the numbering of the tones corresponds to the 8 modes (The 9th Tonus peregrinus is usually associated with mode I).
Anglican Evening Prayer (called “Evensong” when sung) was created by combining elements of Vespers and Compline. Composers writing in this tradition typically treat the Magnficat and the 2nd canticle Nunc dimittis (used only at Compline in the Roman rite) as a related pair.
Further discussion
Musical settings at CPDL
See Category:Evening Canticles for a list of all evening canticles on CPDL.
In Latin
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In English
(BCP translation unless otherwise stated)
In other languages
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Other settings possibly not included in the manual list above
- Nathaniel Adam — Evening Service (Tone II)
- Nathaniel Adam — Evening Service (Tone III)
- Johann Kaspar Aiblinger — 14 Vesperpsalmen
- Gasparo Alberti — Magnificat a 8
- John Amner — Second (Caesar's) Service
- Giovanni Francesco Anerio — Magnificat a 8
- Anonymous — Beatam me dicent
- Anonymous — Esurientes implevit bonis
- Anonymous — Et misericordia eius
- Anonymous — Magnificat octavi toni (Lambeth Choirbook)
- Anonymous — Magnificat septimi toni (Lambeth Choirbook)
- Alexander Arkhangelsky — Evening Service in G
- Benedict Anton Aufschnaiter — Vesper 1
- Richard Ayleward — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (Short Service)
- Johann Sebastian Bach — 185 Bach Chorales
- Edward Bairstow — Evening service in D Major
- Edward Bairstow — Evening service in G
- Adrian Batten — Fourth Service
- Jacques-Louis Battmann — Magnificat
- John Bertalot — Fauxbourdon
- Simon Biazeck — Evening Service for Men's Voices (Magnificat & Nunc dimittis)
- Simon Biazeck — Evening Service: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis
- Gilles Binchois — Magnificat primi toni
- Bernardino Borlasca — Magnificat Octavi toni
- Bernardino Borlasca — Magnificat Sexti Toni
- Herbert Brewer — Evening canticles in D
- Herbert Brewer — Evening canticles in E flat
- William Byrd — Short Service
- Franz Bühler — Vesperae Solennes
- Johann Melchior Caesar — Magnificat B-moll
- Cristoforo Caresana — Deposuit a 4 B
- Cristoforo Caresana — Magnificat a5 voci da capella
- Francesco Cavalli — Magnificat a 8
- William Child — Service in G
- William Child — Sharp Service
- Antonio Cifra — Magnificat (1629)
- Antonio Cifra — Magnificat
- Antonio Cifra — Magnificat a 4
- Horatio Colombano — Magnificat primi toni
- Horatio Colombano — Magnificat secundi toni
- Johann Crüger — Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien
- Colin Davey — Evening Service in B minor
- Henry Walford Davies — Evening Service in E flat
- Hugo Distler — Magnificat
- Guillaume Dufay — Magnificat octavi toni
- Francesco Durante — Magnificat con VV à cinque voci (a minor)
- George Dyson — Evening Service in D Major
- George Dyson — Magnificat in D Major
- Francesco Feroci — Magnificat octavi toni
- Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer — Magnificat brevius
- Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer — Magnificat longius
- Robert Führer — Vesperpsalmen
- Mathieu Gascongne — Magnificat octavi toni
- Mathieu Gascongne — Magnificat septimi toni
- Giovanni Gastoldi — Magnificat
- Orlando Gibbons — Second Service
- Charles Gounod — Magnificat in D
- Gregorian chant — Magnificat (Seventh tone)
- Gregorian chant — Vesper Psalms & Magnificat
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat Octavi toni 1 (odd verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat Octavi toni 2 (even verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat quarti toni (even verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat quarti toni (odd verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat quinti toni (even verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat quinti toni (odd verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat Septimi toni 1 (odd verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat Septimi toni 2 (even verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat sexti toni (even verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat sexti toni (odd verses)
- Francisco Guerrero — Magnificat tertii toni (even verses)
- Conrad Hagius — Mein Seel macht grosz den Herrn
- Basil Harwood — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in E flat
- Johann Michael Haydn — Canticum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis (Magnificat) MH 294
- Johann Michael Haydn — Magnificat, MH 321-6
- Johann David Heinichen — Magnificat in A, S. 90
- Guillaume Le Heurteur — Magnificat Primi Toni
- Guillaume Le Heurteur — Magnificat quarti toni
- Israel Holdroyd — Magnificat
- Georg August Holler — Vesperae Solemnes in D
- William Horwood — Magnificat
- Václav Emanuel Horák — Vesperae de Confessore
- Herbert Howells — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G
- I) — Magnificat (Robert Jones (I))
- Pierre Phalèse II — Litaniae Septem Deiparae Virgini Musice Decantandae
- John Ireland — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F major
- Heinrich Isaac — Alleluia Magnificat
- Ross Jallo — Crediton Service
- Ross Jallo — Short Evening Service
- Philip James — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D
- Hugh Kellyk — Magnificat
- Thomas Knyght — Evening Service for Men
- MB Krueger — Evening Service
- Gierolamo Lambardi — Magnificat Sexti toni
- Tanmoy Laskar — Magnificat a 8
- Orlando di Lasso — Esurientes implevit bonis II
- Orlando di Lasso — Esurientes implevit bonis III
- Orlando di Lasso — Fecit potentiam in brachio suo II
- Giovanni Legrenzi — Magnificat
- Giovanni Legrenzi — Magnificat a 2 chori con strumenti
- Caroline Lesemann-Elliott — Short Service
- Richard Lloyd — Magnificat (Hereford)
- Arthur Henry Mann — Evening Service in E
- Domenico Massenzio — Magnificat
- John Henry Maunder — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D
- Rupert Ignaz Mayr — Magnificat
- Giovanni Battista Mazzaferrata — Magnificat
- Jonathan Merrett — Magnificat and Nunc dimittis
- Ernest John Moeran — Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D
- Henry Molle — First Service
- Henri Du Mont — Magnificat (Ton Royal)
- Cristoforo Montemayor — Magnificat a 8
- John Mundy — Service for Men in 3 parts
- William Mundy — Magnificat (Latin)
- William Mundy — Service in medio chori
- Donat Müller — Vesperae solemnes in D
- Edward Woodall Naylor — Evening Service in A
- Edward Woodall Naylor — Evening Service in D Major
- T. Tertius Noble — Evening Canticles in b minor
- Antonio Nola — Magnificat a 4 chori con violini
- Vincent Francis Novello — Evening canticles in E
- Vincent Francis Novello — Grand Magnificat in C
- José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Alleluia Confitemini Domino
- José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Magnificat for the Vespers of Our Lady
- José Maurício Nunes Garcia — Magnificat for the Vespers of St. Joseph
- Georg Otto — Deutsches Magnificat
- Robert Page — Evening Service in B flat
- Robert Page — Evening Service in G
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina — Esurientes implevit bonis
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina — Magnificat primi toni a 8
- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina — Magnificat primi toni a5
- Jacques Guislain Pamart — Magnificat
- Paolo Pandolfo — Magnificat
- William Pashe — Magnificat
- Stefano Pasino — Magnificat in canon
- Francesco Passarini — Deposuit potentes de sede
- Malcolm Pearce — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (Childrey Service)
- Giacomo Antonio Perti — Magnificat in D
- Pascal Picard — Magnificat, Op. 34
- Matthaeus Pipelare — Magnificat Tertii Toni
- Pietro Pontio — Sicut erat in principio
- Michael Praetorius — Magnificat super Angelus ad pastores ait
- Tim Pratt — Evening Canticles in F
- Tim Pratt — Magnificat (St. Finian's)
- Pancratius Rampis — Magnificat
- Jean Richafort — Magnificat octavi toni
- James Hotchkiss Rogers — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D
- Davide Da Ros — Magnificat
- Giovanni Rovetta — Magnificat concertata a 8
- Franz Schöpf — Vespers & Magnificat in B Flat
- Heinrich Schütz — Magnificat anima mea Dominum, SWV 468
- Ludwig Senfl — Magnificat tertii toni
- John Sheppard — Magnificat
- Caleb Simper — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D
- Heathcote Statham — Magnificat in E Minor
- Konstantin Steingaden — Magnificat
- Charles Hylton Stewart — Evening Service in C Major
- Oliver Stoning — Magnificat
- John Sygar — Magnificat
- Thomas Tallis — Evening Service in Latin
- Thomas Tallis — Magnificat (fauxbourdon)
- Thomas Tallis — Short (Dorian) Service
- John Taverner — Magnificat a 4
- John Taverner — Magnificat a 5
- Thomas Tomkins — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from the Third Service
- Thomas Tomkins — Morning and Evening Canticles from the Fourth Service
- Ludovico da Viadana — Magnificat primi toni a quatro cori
- Ralph Vaughan Williams — Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C
- Charles Wood — Evening Service in C Major
- Robert Wylkynson — Magnificat
Texts used in settings and translations
![]() 1 Magnificat, anima mea, Dominum
Milanese composers (e.g. Cima) set the text according to the Ambrosian Rite, which has the following differences: |
![]()
1 My soul doth magnify the Lord. |
![]()
1 My soul doth magnify the Lord:2 and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. |
1 My soul doth magnify the Lord, |
- Most musical settings in English use the Book of Common Prayer text, including the minor doxology, Gloria Patri. The King James Version is provided for comparison.
![]() 1 Mon âme exalte le Seigneur. |
![]() 1 Mi alma canta la gandeza del Señor |
![]() 1 A minha alma glorifica o Senhor |
![]() 1 Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, |
![]() Modern Chinese |
Classical Chinese |
![]() 1 Mijn ziel prijst en looft de Heer, |
![]() 1 Min sjæl ophøjer Herren, |
![]() Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον |
Μεγαλύνει η ψυχή μου τον Κύριον |
![]() Величай, душе моя, честнейшую горних воинств, |
![]() Величит душа Моя Господа, |
![]()
1 Mi sjel høglovar Herren, |
Bokmål |
![]() Traditional |
Modern Text |
![]()
My soul and spirit, filled with joy, |
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